Morgan Swaim | Staff Writer
This past week was a pivotal one for the Wolves. With a ten game winning streak on the line, the team traveled up north to play two GNAC teams located in Alaska. On Jan. 25, the University of Alaska Fairbanks had the first attempt to face the Wolves, who started the week ranked sixth nationally. The Wolves dominated that match up in a 81-54 blowout. During the second road trip, against the University of Alaska Anchorage on Jan. 27, the two teams mostly traded baskets back and forth, but the 12-point lead established by the Wolves early on kept the game out of reach, 72-62.
The Wolves wasted no time jumping out to a lead on Fairbanks and held the lead the entire game, outpacing Fairbanks 16-6 in the first six minutes. The lead extended to 27 by the time the game was over. Senior guard Dustin Triano found a high amount of success off the bench this game, logging 25 minutes and scoring 13 points.
The second game of the week had the Wolves pitted against the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. The team was lead by superb defensive play in the first half, holding the Seawolves to just 19 points on 6/22 shooting. Senior Tanner Omlid had an excellent all-around performance, scoring 22 points while adding seven rebounds and four assists. On the defensive side, Omlid also recorded three steals and two blocks in the victory.
This past week was beneficial for the team. The Wolves moved into the top spot of the GNAC standings with a 11-1 record in conference play. Western Washington had been undefeated against conference rivals, but saw that streak snap as they lost back to back games this week. These wins also move the Wolves up in the national standings, going from six to four, with an overall record of 19-1. This also comes after the fifth ranked Bellarmine University Knights dropped their second game of the season last week.
On Feb. 1, the team will be traveling to visit Montana State Billings in an attempt to extend the winning streak even higher and climb up national ranks.
Contact the author at mswaim16@wou.edu
Photo by: wouwolves.com
